Black Industries to produce DC Heroes RPG

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Meh. I don't see how DC Comics can make MnM more legitimate in the eyes of comic book fans

Who's talking about legitimacy? I'm talking about $$$ for Green Ronin from the M&M line, which is good news for people who like Green Ronin's products, especially M&M, which is likely to see more support if it suddenly becomes super-profitable (by the standards of RPG companies, anyway).

 

[John Desmarais]

No, but it'll sure help sell the game to DC Comic fans who don't play RPGs or are only casual/occasional gamers. Having the marketing power & money of DC comics working behind you can open up who worlds of advertising that you couldn't get otherwise. You don't need an iconic character to sell to gamers, but you probably do need one to sell it to the guy who hasn't picked up an RPG since the Marvel and DC games went off the market.

Historically, "big name comic" licences have done little to entice non-gamer comic fans into the game market. I think was probably a big part of the problem with Marvel's recent venture into the RPG market - most of their advertising was targetted at the comic market, not the game market (well, that, and the horrible game system).

John D

 

[Ranger REG]

DC and Marvel. Screw them. Forgive my jadedness.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

DC and Marvel. Screw them. Forgive my jadedness.

You're forgiven, but the comic shops that serve as the sole outlet for most other comic books (particularly before companies like Fantagraphics made the transition to TPBs in bookstores) survived the 1980s because of Marvel and DC. (Marvel, DC and Image then led the speculator boom that killed a fair number of them in the early 1990s, of course.) Even today, if superhero comics went away, most comic shops and, in turn, most comic book companies, would go away as well.

If you aren't playing "Mutants & Masterminds" games inspired, even third-hand, by DC or Marvel, what are you playing? "Love & Rockets?"

 

[Ranger REG]

If you aren't playing "Mutants & Masterminds" games inspired, even third-hand, by DC or Marvel, what are you playing? "Love & Rockets?"

There was a time when I used to like them two companies. Now, they're bleah. I may give them credit for my childhood imagination, but as corporations, they're going to screw Green Ronin and Black Industries. They have to, Stan Lee is no longer working for either one of them.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There was a time when I used to like them two companies. Now, they're bleah. I may give them credit for my childhood imagination, but as corporations, they're going to screw Green Ronin and Black Industries. They have to, Stan Lee is no longer working for either one of them.

Heh, Stan was one of the key screwers back in the day. Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko had to fight like hell to get credit and fair compensation for their contributions, and they never really got the latter.

And let's not forget the way they treated Marv Wolfman when they "forgot" to give him any money for "Blade," when it turned out that he hadn't actually filled out a work for hire contract when he created Blade, Whistler and the rest of those lovely movie franchise characters back in the 1970s. Stan was still nominally in charge at that point.

And Black Industries are big enough to afford good contract lawyers, and they'll be fine. If BI is indeed farming out the work to Green Ronin, it'll be between the two of them, not them and teh big ebil corporations.

 

[Ranger REG]

And Black Industries are big enough to afford good contract lawyers, and they'll be fine. If BI is indeed farming out the work to Green Ronin, it'll be between the two of them, not them and teh big ebil corporations.

It still need approval from DC Comics Licensing. They're not going to sign a contract giving BI carte blanche.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It still need approval from DC Comics Licensing. They're not going to sign a contract giving BI carte blanche.

Sure, but DC's not going to get involved in how much of their fee BI turns around and contracts out to Green Ronin. It's not any of their business, and they simply won't care anyway. Green Ronin won't get screwed.

 

[Sketchpad]

Personally, while I like the idea of a DC RPG being in the works, I honestly don't think we'll get a horde of people suddenly going "Hey! I can play Batman (or Supes or whoever)!" Personally, as long as it's a good system and an interesting one, I'll take a good look at it. But if it's an adaption of the WHFRP rules for superheroes? I'll probably pass ... gimme the old MSH system or Champions anyday

 

[Von Ether]

... acutally I am surprised someone hasn't popped in here to suggest we should use Crusades and Castles.